Prof. Dr.Azizul Halim
Yahya
Dean
Faculty of Communication &
Media Studies UiTM,
Malaysia
Social Media and
Democratization: A
New Form of
Democratic Transition

Introducti
on

Introducti
on
social media has provided space
for the audience to exercise
freedom of expression, views
and opinions
Rapid technological development has
created an unprecedented
phenomenon that is social media.
In a borderless world, information is readily available
at the public’s fingertips. Advancement in digital
technology, from web 1.0 to web 2.0 has enabled
people to upload, post, discuss, interact and
comment on social networking sites.

On Average
850
million
Active User per
month
Faceboo
k 175
millionTweet
Everyda
y
Thus it appear s that,
opinions and gos s ip
have the ability to
s pread widely, quic k ly
and w ithout c ontr ol

Transition
of Social
Communic
ation

Social
networking sites
is said to
function in the
same manner,
with a distinction
in its approach.
The s oc ial media
envir onment is
d e s ig n e d to
ma ximiz e
s atis fac tion for the
gener al public ,
w hile fac ilitating
th e ir s o c ia l

Transition
of Social
Communic
ation
+

Transition
of Social
Communic
ation
-

The Role of
Social Media
in
Democracy
P o t e n t i a l t o c h a n g e t h e
f u n d a m e n t a l c h a r a c t e r o f
s o c i a l l i f e , e i t h e r o n a n
i n t e r p e r s o n a l o r a t a
s o c i e t a l l e v e l ( E l l i s o n e t a l ,
2 0 0 9 ) .
Changes in the
patter ns of
inter ac tion and
s oc ial r elations hip

Information can be
delivered to all of
community speedily, and
this would affect all
segments of society.

Social
Moveme
nt
Social media
played a role of
communication
that aids the
revolution by
enabling the
sharing of
resources, values
and a common
strategy for
improving public
support, thereby
putting pressure
on the
governments
(Sabadello, 2011)

Impact of
New Media
Democratiza
tion
The first social media event that
changed the landscape of social
democracy took place in 1994.
The Zapatista Army of National
Liberation Army (EZLN) in
Chiapas, Mexico wasthe pioneer
in using new media for political
activism, particularly politically
motivated communication to its
supporters in Mexico and
worldwide (Sabadello, 2011).
In the year 2000, social movements in
Serbia have mobilized a large number of
people to question the oppressive political
regime, which directly contributed to the
fall of President Slobodan Milosevic. The
social-network-based movements was
established by a group of university
students in October 1998
In the year 2008, hundreds of
thousands of people marched in
Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, to
protest the continuous violence by
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC). All information
regarding the protest was
transmitted and disseminated via
Facebook (Sabadello, 2011).

Although the term “Arab
Spring” has always been used
to refer to revolution led by
everyday people through
social media, it is in fact a
logical continuation of
strategies employed by
previous political movements.
The implication is in how the
new media is used to
encourage democracy and in
an effective manner (ibid.).
Hence, it is established that
the Internet can directly
impact a democratic system
conventional
political
participation
(voting, donating
to a political
body,
campaigning, etc
non-conventional
political
participation
(marches,
demonstrations,
etc.

Conclusi
on
the challenge of democratization through social media,
the government should institute a new law or bill that
governs dissemination of information so as to avoid
misperception and malice.
This would mean that new media organizations (online
news agency, information sites, etc.) should uphold
conviction and accountability in ensuring the
dissemination of information
The definition of media literacy should also be extended to
include social media understanding, which teaches the society
not only to accept, but also to be capable of interpreting and
evaluating information from social media.

Thank You